For a long time I was in denial about my weight. Sure, I knew I wasn’t in fighting shape. Clothes shopping was a cruel punishment, and my wardrobe had transformed from cute to comfortable- a.k.a. frumpy mommy-wear. Strange as it sounds, I didn’t see myself as horribly overweight when I looked in the mirror. The extra pounds bothered me, but I figured they were a part of the package, the adult “me.”
That was only one of the lies I was believing about myself in relation to my weight and body image. In the past I used those lies as excuses-- reasons to not be serious about my weight loss because in the end, I didn’t believe it would ever really happen.
Excuse #1: The excess pounds were a result of my body settling in at it’s comfortable weight.
I had tried dieting and exercising off and on, but my body never went below a certain number. The message I told myself was that it wouldn’t ever get below that number, no matter what I tried. That message was a lie. The truth? I really, really wanted to get below that number, but I didn’t have the tools in place to do it yet.
The television show, “The Biggest Loser” was a reality check for me. Every week, I would tune in and watch a group of morbidly obese people do the work it took to get to a healthy weight. I wasn’t as big as the contestants on the show, but after I while I realized if those people could do it, with all that weight, some who were decades older than me with real medical issues, then what was my excuse? The workouts on the show weren’t anything new to me- there was no “magic” I could see to being on the ranch. The thing those people had that I didn’t have was a plan for eating right and exercising, and they had encouragement from their trainers and peers. I knew I couldn’t devote the amount of time they could to training, but I could do something. Watching that show was the first step in changing my mindset about my weight.
Excuse #2 I didn’t look that overweight in the mirror.
I wasn’t looking in a full length mirror. I never saw the whole picture, mainly because I didn’t want to. I was always the one behind the camera, and for years I had very few pictures taken of myself. When I finally saw a picture of myself at my biggest, there was no more denying the truth that I was overweight. The picture was shock enough to spur me into motion.
Excuse #3: My hormones are out of whack, which is why I can’t lose weight.
My hormones have always been wacky, and have caused medical issues over the years. No doubt, hormones make it more difficult for some people to lose weight. The key words there being more difficult, not impossible. Hormones are not an excuse, like I bought into for a long time. It may take longer for a person with something like PMDD or PCOS to lose weight, but it can happen. I am living proof of that!
There are countless websites and books written by “experts” that claim the only way to balance your hormones and lose weight is to buy their special formula for a specific supplement, or to follow a very rigid eating plan tailored to your hormone issues that can only be found by buying their book or paying to access their website.
I’m a researcher by heart and by training, so I’m weary of anyone with dubious credentials whose claims are not yet established by the medical community and not supported with ample scientific evidence. I bought in to some of this, however, because I was desperate. Losing weight was hard, and not quick. Those "experts" seemed to get what I was going through, and I bought the books and followed a few different plans to the T. Guess what? It didn’t work. I didn’t feel any different, and the weight didn’t come off. Not following those plans, anyway!
Excuse #4: I couldn’t afford the extra cost to lose weight.
Yes, this was one of my excuses. I’m a stay-at-home mom, and we are on a budget. The thought of paying for a gym membership and changing my carefully calculated food budget sent me into overwhelm mode. Add on to that the cost of Weight Watchers, and I thought there was no way we could make it work.
When I made the decision that I wanted to lose the weight, my hubby and I agreed that the issue was important enough to spend the extra money. In the long run, how could we afford not to? The health risks, doctor visits, and lower quality of life would far out-cost the WW membership dues. We moved some things around, made sacrifices in other areas to pay for Weight Watchers, knowing that it would not be a forever expense. Did you know that once you reach your goal weight, you no longer have to pay for WW meetings? That’s a great incentive!
I quickly found that you don’t have to have a gym membership to exercise effectively, and I was able to find food solutions that still fit in our weekly budget. I wouldn’t have known this if I didn’t just bite the bullet, and do it on faith.
Excuse #4: I don’t have time to exercise. This is a big topic that I’ll explore another day.
I was not able to get serious about weight loss until I had debunked all of the excuses I once held as truth. The excuses held me back, and gave me a reason to stay static. Don’t let that happen to you! What are the excuses you've started to believe?
No comments:
Post a Comment